The Holy Joe Killer
by Vean
Summary: Three men were found posed as if Jesus on the Cross, but in various locations near garbage. Jane and Maura work the case. Rated T for now, but will go up to M. A Very, VERY slow burn Rizzles story. Disclaimer, I don't own the characters. Many thanks to Emotionsovrflow for all her help and assistance.


**The Holy Joe Killer**

**Chapter One**

As the sun rose over the horizon that early morning, the first sign something was amiss at the Boston city dump was the sheer number of birds circling over a certain spot, more so than usual. When the driver of the dumpster truck came near and saw what attracted the interest of the birds, he dry retched before reaching for his walkie talkie.

"There's another body, in the same position as the others, over in the S2 part of the dump. Call the cops!"

Later that morning, as the crime scene was being cordoned off, Frost threw up into his vomit bag, so as not to contaminate the scene. Meanwhile, Jane Rizzoli waved a stick at some birds who had already made way with one eyeball, shooing them to avoid any additional evidence loss. The natural smells of the dump combined with the distinctive smell of decomposition made even the most hardened of detectives queasy, but Jane remembered the handy tip Maura gave her, smear Vicks vapor-rub on her nostrils and the smells would be overpowered. She continued trying to scare off the birds while Maura, wearing a hazmat suit, like the other officers and detectives on the scene, finished the initial examination of the body. The body lay supine, posed, resembling Jesus on the cross. His hands were splayed, his feet impaled together with a stake, a roughly made crown of thorns on his head, the body left in a location where he would be easily found.

The detectives on the scene looked at each other, thinking of the other two victims who were found posed in similar positions, like Jesus on the cross, only they were posed on top of garbage instead. The first victim was found on a dumpster barge, and the second victim on top of garbage bags left for trash collection. All three seemed to have identical wounds, on the palms, the feet and on the torso.

"Caucasian male, aged between 50 and 70, with wounds apparent on both hands and feet, wound on his torso, one eyeball missing. Time of death between 48 and 72 hours. I will know more after the autopsy."

"So, it's another victim of the serial killer?"

"I do not make assumptions. I will know more after the autopsy, as I said."

"Hmpf!"

After the photos of the crime scene were taken and they were ready to go, Jane, Frost and Maura were walking back to the car when Jane stepped on something only to realize it was the decomposing body of a rat, riddled with maggots. The disturbance released a stench which was so powerful it nearly made her vomit. It was then and only then that she was very thankful she was wearing the special hazmat suit, including foot coverings, so she did not have to take the gunk off her boots, not to mention the Vicks around her nostrils.

When she tried to lift her foot off the remains, she discovered they stuck to her foot. "Ah, Fuck!"

"Language!"

When Maura was done with the autopsy, she looked up to see Jane standing at the doorway, observing her. When Jane knew Maura was finished, she ambled over to her and sat on the free autopsy table next to Maura. Maura took off her gloves as Jane watched.

"Did you find the same message in the throat as found in the other bodies?"

Jane leaned forward, balancing herself by holding the ends of the table with both hands. Maura took off her face mask and placed it on the tray beside the table, and nodded.

"Yes, like the others, the message was typed, and placed in a ziploc bag. The exact same phrase."

"Yeah?"

Jane paced back and forth as she continued with the questions.

"What about the stab wounds? Are they consistent with those on the other two bodies?"

"I was able to determine that this man's hands were impaled with a rusty implement, most likely an iron spike of some description. I was right when I said the reddish brown stain wasn't blood. Not wholly. There was rust as well."

"Hah, I'll give you that!"

Maura continued as if Jane hadn't spoken.

"There isn't enough information to determine which type of spike given the evidence."

Jane groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Ah, come on! It's probably a rusty nail!"

Maura ignored her comment and continued;

"You see here the stab wound."

Pointing to the wound on the right hand side of the torso, Maura beckoned to Jane, who peered closer at the wound.

"Interestingly, the length and diameter of the wound indicates a long, narrow tapered blade was used. A sword of some description, and the mark left behind by the hilt indicates something like a rapier."

Jane looked up at Maura with interest.

"A rapier? That's strange. Not many people now would use such a weapon. That would help us narrow our investigation."

Maura nodded, walking towards her office, Jane following her.

"Another thing, this time, the path of the wound shows some hesitancy marks, and this time the rapier did not pierce the heart. Unlike the other two cases, where there were no hesitancy marks, and the rapier slid through the ribs, this man's ribs were hit twice before the rapier went through and sliced through the liver, the aorta and the lungs, both lungs, causing double pneumothorax, which is air in the lung cavity, but the cause of death was massive internal bleeding.

Jane paused, nodding solemnly.

"Would the findings indicate a different killer this time?"

Jane asked with mock formality.

Maura sassed, "I don't guess."

"Ah, go on, ok, what would you say, based on the science, hmm?" Jane asked, with a twinkle in her eye.

Maura smiled at her, before folding her arms,

"All I will say is the first two bodies show no hesitancy marks, and the sword pierced the heart, and the current victim's heart wasn't pierced, but the aorta was, and there were hesitancy marks. I'll type up the autopsy reports for you, and I'll text you when they are ready, then you can detect."

Jane smiled.

"Great. Ok, see you later, I have to talk to Frost. I'll be back. Don't go anywhere."

Maura laughed at that.

"Where else would I go? I'll be here. That's perfectly fine, come back here when you're ready and we'll go to the Dirty Robber. See you later."

With a friendly smile, Jane nodded as she left the room, heading back to the Bullpen.

A few hours later, when Jane got the report from Maura, she joined Frost and Korsak at the Bullpen.

The faces of the three victims were displayed with their details underneath, on the big computer screens.

The three detectives sat facing the screens, discussing the case.

Korsak looked over at Jane, asking , "Tell us about the results of the latest autopsy, Jane. Similar to the others?"

Looking through the report, Jane nodded.

"Yes, each hand was impaled with a rusty implement, a rapier-like sword, which was also used to pierce the heart, a failed attempt in the latest case, and the stake through the feet is made of old wood, as indicated by the dust and rust. Frost, could you pull up the photos of the three victims side by side so we can compare them?"

Frost looked at his computer, and did what Jane asked. The three detectives looked at the three pictures. Korsak made an observation which merely made the others nod.

"So we know that the killer has some sort of obsession with Jesus' crucifixion. The injuries on all three victims were found on Jesus as he died on the cross, including the crown of thorns. Go on, tell us, the bible phrase is the same, I bet"

Jane looked back in the file in her hands.

"Yes, the exact same phrase. If we can work out the significance to the killer, perhaps it could help us."

Frost pulled up the phrase in question and the words jumped onto the screen.

_Isaiah 45:7__**  
**__I form the light, and create darkness:__**  
**__I make peace, and create evil:__**  
**__I the Lord do all these things._

He was the first to break the silence." Rather creepy, if you look at it. Ambiguous, too. Maybe the killer has a God complex? Or perhaps it is something to do with retribution, that these men were in positions of power and ended up doing 'evil'? Hm, the sooner we identify these victims the better. It's very strange that there doesn't seem to be dental records for any of the victims. And it certainly makes things more challenging for us."

Jane looked at the file again, then remembered what Maura said back in the morgue earlier.

"Maura said something very interesting earlier. The differences."

Jane explained the variations, and the others nodded.

Frost remarked,

"I'm not certain that there is only one killer. As you pointed out, the first two victims were killed by someone with a good knowledge of human anatomy, while the last victim was killed by a different person, who may have been less experienced."

Korsak agreed, before they heard a loud gasp, which made the three detectives turn around. Sister Winifred Callahan stood at the door, holding on to the doorframe, with a shocked expression on her face.

"Sister, are you alright? Do you recognize these men?" Jane asked in a very soft voice.

The nun nodded, speechlessly.


End file.
